Rural Economy Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Baroness Mallalieu
Main Page: Baroness Mallalieu (Labour - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Mallalieu's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(3 years, 5 months ago)
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Lord Gardiner of Kimble (Con)
My Lords, I confirm that the UK shared prosperity fund will take into account the specific needs of rural communities and will help to support investment in rural infrastructure as well as rural businesses.
Baroness Mallalieu (Lab) [V]
I declare my interests as stated in the register. With increasing numbers of people wanting to both live and work in the countryside, what steps are Her Majesty’s Government proposing to take to ensure that rural areas are not left behind in the rollout of 5G as they were with broadband?
Lord Gardiner of Kimble (Con)
That is absolutely why we are investing and working with the £5 billion programme to support the rollout of gigabit-capable broadband, as well as the joint investment of over £1 billion in the shared rural network on mobile, both of which are extremely important. It is the case that 5G is a continuing challenge for the hard-to-reach areas, and that is what we want to work on in particular.